In this guide, we break down five storylines to explore how religion shapes—and is shaped by—the political landscape in the months ahead.

Jack Jenkins is a national reporter for Religion News Service based in Washington, covering the intersection of religion and politics as well as U.S. Catholics. He is the author of American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country.American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics […]

This guide, part of a new series from ReligionLink focusing on different regions in global religion reporting, provides background, resources, relevant stories and sources to help journalists understand East Asia’s religious institutions, communities, histories and political contexts.

Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm is a religion professor Williams College, who is particularly useful for reporters who need to understand why Western assumptions about “religion” can be misleading in Japan. His research examines how categories such as religion, science and superstition were constructed in modern Japan and how those categories shaped Shinto and Buddhist traditions […]

Richard Madsen is a distinguished professor emeritus of sociology at UC San Diego and director of the Fudan-UC Center on Contemporary China, Madsen is a foundational scholar of Chinese religion and society, with a particular focus on Chinese Catholics and Taiwanese religion.

Nanlai Cao is a sociocultural anthropologist at City University of Hong Kong who has conducted extensive ethnographic research on contemporary Chinese Christianity, particularly in Wenzhou. His work is especially useful for reporters interested in how religion operates at the level of neighborhoods, businesses, families and everyday life rather than simply through national policy. He also […]

In this guide, we provide background, tips and suggestions, newswriting for context and experts and sources for you to turn to as you ramp up your coverage of religion and the 2026 midterms.

The Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society is based at Baylor University in Waco, Tx. The center seeks to promote research, teaching, and understanding of religion and politics in communist, post-communist and totalitarian societies. Director is Kathy Hilllman. Contact is Keston Center Archivist Larisa Seago.

This guide is designed to help reporters uncover fresh, compelling and nuanced religion stories in advance of the United States Semiquincentennial celebrations in July 2026.